Volleyball: 'Coach' Never Far from Marysville Title Dreams
November 18, 2011
2011 Volleyball Finals Previews
The same dreams have made their way around the Marysville volleyball team the last two months.
A player woke up in the middle of the night saying “Coach, Coach,” thinking she’d heard the voice of John Knuth.
Another woke up stretched out like she was about to block a spike, perhaps responding to one of his commands from the bench.
The longtime Marysville coach has been on his players’ minds for obvious reasons since leaving the Oct. 1 Mount Morris Invitational in an ambulance after suffering a heart attack.
Although recovering now, he hasn’t returned to the team and won’t for this weekend’s MHSAA Finals – the first championship weekend appearance for the storied Vikings program since 2006. But that doesn’t mean Knuth won’t have a presence at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
“It’s actually funny. The first couple weeks of practice after he was gone, if I screwed something up and I was thinking I was doing something wrong, instead of hearing my voice say it (in my head), I would hear his voice,” Marysville senior Haylee Booms said. “We became attuned to his voice.”
Class A and D Semifinals were played Thursday, with B and C tonight. Marysville (49-9-4) faces Tecumseh in their Semifinal at 7:15 p.m.
Leading the Vikings will be first-year coach Kristen Michaelis, a former Marysville and U.S. national team standout who took over the program this fall as a co-coach with Knuth – who entered the fall third in MHSAA volleyball history with 1,135 wins, a .935 winning percentage and nine MHSAA championships.
Although Knuth had previously stopped coaching the team after the 2006-07 season, these players certainly knew the significance of an opportunity to play for him. “Him telling me I did a good job, it’s just a dream come true because you know if it’s coming from him, you’ve done good,” Booms said.
Knuth and Michaelis replaced Paul Levandowski, who coached from 2007-10, and the plan was for Knuth to take the lead role early and progressively transfer responsibilities to his former middle hitter before retiring from coaching completely after the season.
Michaelis didn’t expect to take full control so suddenly. Knuth said he didn’t feel well after that first match at Mount Morris, and then didn’t return to the floor the rest of the tournament. He left for the hospital, and although the players sensed something was up, Michaelis didn’t tell them what until after the last match of the day. The team came together for a tearful group hug.
“Obviously, it was hard for the girls to deal with, but I told them we’d all work through this together. He’s on our minds, but he would want us to push forward and have successful season,” Michaelis said. “I knew my role would have to increase. I would not just be a coach, but kind of a mentor for the girls. They are pretty big shoes to fill.”
So far, so good.
The Vikings dropped their first match after Knuth was hospitalized, three days later against Macomb Area Conference Red foe Macomb Dakota. But they bounced back to sweep the rest of their league opponents 3-0 and claim the conference championship. Marysville didn’t give up a game in the District or Regional before falling in the first against Frankenmuth – and then coming back to win the next three.
Michaelis had been a Marysville assistant the last two seasons, and played on the 1997-2000 Marysville teams that won the first of eight straight MHSAA titles. But she brought a variety of experiences back into the program – she went on to earn All-America recognition for Fresno State after high school, and then helped the U.S. team to a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games.
She’s incorporated her own drills and style, and Booms said the coaches bring different approaches both in relating to the players and motivating them to improve. 
“We always knew from the beginning that it was a special team. We knew what the potential was. But whatever happened, something just kinda clicked,” Michaelis said. “Maybe a little more to play for him. Our league is one of the best on the east side, and we knew none of the teams would come out of it undefeated. … We’re still thinking about Coach, but we’ve turned it into a positive thing, not a distraction.”At team dinners the players say a little prayer asking for Knuth to return to good health, and do the same before every game. Opponents and other schools from all over and have sent cards and other well wishes, and at Tuesday’s Quarterfinal at North Branch, Frankenmuth fans hung a sign amid those supporting their team that read “Muth Prays 4 Knuth.”
Michaelis keeps Knuth updated frequently, either directly or through messages to his son. Levandowski and other former players are among those who have come in to lend an extra hand at practices. The team is watching videos of Marysville’s MHSAA championship teams to see the level of intensity and focus necessary to accomplish the same.
Booms said the players have focused on playing with maturity and accepting little mistakes in order to move on and improve. That in turn might’ve helped them deal with this much larger dose of adversity.
And after Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win, they heard Knuth’s voice again – sort of, through Michaelis. She texted Knuth that the Vikings had advanced to Finals weekend, then relayed to her players his message telling them how proud they’d made him.
“As soon as it happened, we knew we had to work harder,” Booms said of Oct. 1. “This was going to make or break out season, but we were going to make our season. … We weren’t expected to make it this far. But the fact is we all wanted it, and we all believed in ourselves.
“We’re all dreaming.”
PHOTOS
(TOP) One goal: Marysville's volleyball player join together before the start of Tuesday's Quarterfinal match against Frankenmuth at North Branch.
(MIDDLE) 4 Knuth: A sign hung by Frankenmuth fans showed their support for Marysville co-coach John Knuth.
(BELOW) Champions: Marysville claimed last week's Regional title and will make its first Semifinal appearance tonight since 2006.
(Top and below photos courtesy of Dusty Johnson.)
Class A Final Rematch Goes to Novi
November 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – Novi was plenty familiar with Romeo heading into Saturday’s Class A Final at Kellogg Arena.
And the Wildcats had more or less memorized last season’s championship match loss to the Bulldogs. “I watched that game … a lot,” Novi senior Victoria Iacobelli said. “Too many times to count.”
But she and her teammates also were more familiar with the stage of an MHSAA Finals weekend after last year advancing for the first time since 2007. And that made all the difference in reversing last season’s result.
The top-ranked Wildcats won the first set this time and then the final two to down Romeo in four – 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-17.
“Obviously last year was a new environment, so there were a lot more nerves coming in,” Iacobelli said. “So we knew this year we had to stay calm and come in with confidence, whether that meant passing well and serving well, or just playing our system and trusting the girls on our team to do what they’ve got to do. And that’s what we did.
“We started strong, and that was a large contributor … confidence.”
Understanding the significance of Saturday, aside from the obvious – Novi winning its first MHSAA title in the sport in only its third trip past the Regionals Final – requires a brief review of last season’s championship match.
Romeo won in five sets after Novi got behind 2-0 and fought back to even. Recently-awarded Miss Volleyball Gia Milana cemented her status as favorite with 29 kills, including six in the final game.
This time, Novi won convincingly the first set before Romeo drew even winning the second. The third set was close, and at the end of the afternoon Milana again had 29 kills including a couple that simply were jaw-dropping – but by the midway point of the fourth set, it was clear Novi was surging toward the decisive finish. Wildcats juniors Ally Cummings and Emmy Robinson combined to block one final Milana attack back across the net for the final point.
“There’s obviously a little more motivation coming in from last year. (A rematch) wasn’t necessarily on our minds through the postseason, but I know as soon as Thursday was over and Romeo was our opponent, there was a lot more motivation,” Iacobelli said.
Milana’s kills will again tie for sixth most in an MHSAA Final during the rally scoring era that began in 2004-05. But Novi senior Paulina Iacobelli also will make the list with 20, and she didn't have a hitting error. Cummings had 17 and 21 digs and Victoria Iacobelli added 13 kills and six aces.
Sophomore Erin O’Leary’s 47 assists also tied how many she had in the 2014 match – and again for eighth-most in an MHSAA Final.
Romeo entered the tournament ranked No. 6 and ended 48-8-1. Milana will graduate among the top hitters in MHSAA history with her kills this fall ranking among the top 10 for one season. Senior setter Breanna Olley added 39 assists and 15 digs.
“I’m honestly happy for them because they really deserve it,” Milana said. “We just needed to say ‘No.’ We didn’t say no; we played with them instead of at them. We didn’t go after them. We stepped back and let them take the wheel and do whatever they wanted.”
Novi finished 55-2, its only losses this season to Farmington Hills Mercy, an honorable mention in the final Class A coaches poll, and Class B champion Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard.
“I thought if we played our game that we could defeat them. But they’re teenage girls; you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get and how the nerves are going to play into it, and the emotions,” Novi coach Jennifer Cottrill said. “I was confident in our team and our ability to win, and I’m just happy that they went out and performed the way I know they can.
“That was a tough loss last year. They were just so hungry this year."
PHOTOS: (Top) Novi celebrates as coach Jennifer Cottrill hoists the team’s first championship trophy in volleyball. (Middle) Romeo’s Payton Klein follows through on a kill attempt while Novi’s Kathryn Ellison puts up a block.